Plymouth Beach Shark Closing May Have Been On Porpoise

PLYMOUTH, MA — In the classic movie "Jaws" the ignominious Mayor Vaughn tells Chief Brody: "If you yell 'Shark!' we've got a panic on our hands on the Fourth of July."

But what happens if you really meant to yell "Porpoise!" on the holiday weekend instead?

Plymouth's Long Beach was closed for about three hours Sunday after a reported shark sighting off shore. The Plymouth Harbormaster said lifeguards also ordered swimmers out of the water at White Horse Beach late Saturday based on a shark sighting.

@Plymouth_Harbor crew checking the white horse beach area after a confirmed shark sighting. Lifeguards ordered people out of the water and red flags will be flying at Town beaches. pic.twitter.com/fsK4IFIYJb
— PlymouthHarbormaster (@Plymouth_Harbor) July 4, 2020

But Sunday night, the Harbormaster allowed that the "confirmed" shark sighting may have, in fact, been a porpoise.

Of course, when it comes to a great white shark, it is better to be safe than as sorry as Mayor Vaughn was for not heeding the shark warnings sooner. But it was probably best that they did not hire the local Quint to go after a porpoise, if that, indeed, was what caused the beach closing.

Head of the Meadow Beach in Truro was also closed for about an hour on Sunday due to a shark sighting. Last week, two sharks were spotted attacking seals in Orleans, with Cape Cod National Seashore Chief Ranger Leslie Reynolds warning it could be a busy summer for sharks swimming close to shore.

Related Patch Coverage: Cape Cod Officials Warn Of White Sharks Ahead Of July Fourth

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